Stabilizing-vane.



C. R. WITTEMANN.

STABILIZING VANE APPLlcATloN FILED MAR\1'2.1915.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

c. R. WITTEMANN.

STABILIZING VANE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR` 12. 1915.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES R. WITTEMANN, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

STABILIZING-VAN E.

To all @1J/Omit may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. WITTE- MANN, a citizen ofthe United States, and resident of the borough of Richmond, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stabilizing-Vanes, of which the following is a specication.

1 This invention -relates to vertical stabilizing vanes for flying machines, and my improvements consist in a certain vane formation including curves andangles which cordinate to correct over-balancing pressure tendencies. In brief, my improved vanes, which are intended to be mounted, either rigidly for automatic service, or pivotally for manual control at opposite ends of a supporting plane, are so shaped and arranged, that the forward portion ofeach vane is presented edgewise in the direction of flight, while the upper and `lower rearward portions thereof are outwardly and oppositely curved', whereby in effect the upper and lower corner portions possess curvilinear contours with approximately bisecting medial lines.` In this manner, the pressures ybeing constant, and the curved over-hang at its upperrear portion offering a positive, pressure supporting angle to the air currents or columns, the'vane will be normally in vertical position with the air craft traveling on an even'keel, but when that pressure becomes abnormal sufficiently to create a tendency to. establish a high side to the machine, then the curved over-hang of the vane at the abnormal pressure receiving side, in the act of elevating in a turning movement which concurrently depresses the opposite side of the e machine, thereby changes to a negative angle with a consequent diminution of pressure support. At the same time the other .vane of the pair, correspondingly, though oppositely arranged and mounted at the other lend of the supporting plane, increases the positive angle of its rearward upper curved portion, to thereby exercise greater lifting effort at the low side of the machine, whereby the excess of positive angle on the low side, conjoined with the negative angularity at the' high side, serves to neutralize the eifect of the over-balancing tendency. y

The curvature atthe lower rear portion of the vane has the effect, with respect to the vane atthe high side of the machine, of more rapidly bringing the lower portion of Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed Maren 12, 1915.

Patented Nov.. 16, 1915. serial No. 13,831.

said vane to a negative angle, while, on the low side of the machine, the corresponding curvature of the opposite vane of the pair, aifords', with the curvature at the rearward upper portion, a non-spilling pressure'receiving surface which is highly eficient. Said lower rear curvature also exercises the extremely important and novel function with a vane at the high side of enabling abnormal pressures encountered in the line of flight to provide a depressing force at said high side, which force becomes more pronounced proportionately as the upper curvature recedes from its positive degree of pressure containing angularity toward the negative angle, acting further with the restrain- -ing influence of a brake to prevent oscillatory action and thus steady the machine under pressure variations. Thus it will be seen that with a pair of the aforesaid vertical vanes secured at opposite sides of an aeroplane, for lateral balance, the vane which is at the side of the machine subjected to the greater air pressure, causing it to tilt upwardly and become the high side, will, therev by, at its upper curvature, assume a negative angle and thus spill the pressure, while its lower curvature will at the same time become more positive, wherebv that same greater pressure, in increasing ratio with the upward tilting of the machine at that side, bears upon said lower curvature with depressing influence relatively to the high side `of the machine. At the same time the vane at the side of the machine receiving less pressure, thereby becoming the low side, acquires considerable increase in the pressure supporting capacity of its upper curvature, which assumes a more positive angle; and, also, the lower curvature of that vane, while taking a negative angle with relation to the encountered pressure, provides, with the upper curvature, a powerful brake to prevent side slippage of the machine, in this respect proving equally efficacious l while banking in making a turn as in performing the function of stabilizing.

he general contour of each vane, irrespective of the upper and lowercurvatures referred to, is that of a parallelogram, excepting that at its lower forward portion its terminal edge extends rearwardly point of the front edge to the base, thereby restricting the extent of the lower forward portion of said vane, for the purpose oi er1- abling encountered pressures to more readfrom a.

ily co-aetv lower curved portions of the vane as stated.

ln the instance of the vanes aforesaid being mounted for manual control, they may be pivoted about parallel axes, and provided to hold! them in a set position, together with means for 4.varying them from that positionv at the-.will of the operator in any known manner.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear. n

In the drawingsrjFigure 1 is a side elevation of a portionfof an aquairplane showing mounted thereon one of my improve vanes. Fig. 2 is a perspective side elevation of a vane, as pivotally supported for manual control. Fig. 3 is a rear end perspective view ofthe vane. Fig. i is a horizontal section` through the upper portion of Fig. 2,

and Fig. 5 is a reduced plan view, intermedi'- ately broken away, showing a pair of vanes arranged one at each end of the supporting surface.

.My improved vertical balancing vanes are intended to be arranged transverselyrelatively to the supporting planes, or longitudinally in the direction "of fl'ght. In Fig. 1 a

varie, as 1, is shown as rlgidlymounted at one end of a bi-plane supporting unit, said vanehaving the upper, rearward and outward curvature 2, and the lower, rearward and outward curvature 3. To comprise an operative pair of such vanes a similar one would be correspondingly mounted at the opposite end of said bi-plane unit. Or said pair of vanesmight be disposed inl any other desirable positions within the laterall eX- tent of the supporting planes, whether ,the plane units be of the bi-plane, monoplane, or multi-plane type.- Being rigidly mounted, the vanes, of which there may be one or more pairs, are movable only with and in ,the movement of the entire machine, and it is due to the structural. formation of said vanes that they are able to compensate for ythe variations of pressure met with to afford inherent stabilization.

The forward portion of the vane, as at 4:', is fiat, and directed forwardly in the line of flight, though having` a slight outward di vergence. Rearwardly from the flat portion, as at 2, the material of the vane assumes approximately the contour of a conic section, whereby the upper rear corner ofv the vane, instead `of being rectangular, has an outward curve which presents a lifting surface whose resistance to the supporting pressures vvaries according to, the angle which said pressuresygive tothe machine. Also at the .lower rear portion of the vane its material follows a roll or curvature 3 whosel medial line intersects the medial line of I. curvature 2, saidv curvature 3 affording a with the rearward upper and' desired v toI have downward pressure surface which enables pressures encountered in the line of flight to exercise a depressing influence upon the vane, thereby counteracting excessive lift and serving to prevent oscillatory action of the machine under varying pressures.

The correctional value of the curvatures in the vane at the high side is augmented by the corresponding curvatures ofthe vane at the low side,- where the upper curved portion 2 provides a more positive supporting surface as inclined with the tilt of the ma chine, and where the lower curved portion 3 coperates with said upper curved portion in the provisionof a drift or slip retarding device; the conjoint action of the said vane characteristics thus effectively vrestoring equilibrium of the machine as `and when disturbed. The under forward portion of each vane is bounded by .an inclined edge eX- tending downwardly from the vertical front edge to the'horizontal bottom edge of the vane, whereby is facilitated the introduction of air pressures to the surfaces of the upper and` lower rearward curved surface portions aforesaid.

As shown in Fig. 2, the vanes 1 may be pivotally supported, as at 5, to be in this manner capable of manipulation where it is the stabilizing vanes under manual control. i

Variations'may be resorted to within the scope and spirit of my invention, and parts thereof used'without others.

I claim :e-

1. A vertical balancing vane for aeroplanes arranged with itsA forward portion straight in,tl"fe line of flight, and its upper and lower rear portions outwardly curved from a common center, to afford pressure receiving surfaces, which respectively function to increase their positiveand negative angles to stabilize the aeroplane against the variable pressure disturbing influence to which it is" subjected, and whichl jointly serve to steady the aeroplane againstv oscillatory motion.

2. The combination, with an aeroplane, of a pair of vertical vanes arranged respectively at opposite'sides of its longitudinal' axis, said vanes lying in the direction of flight, and being each outwardly curved respectively at their rear upper and lower p0rtions over intersecting radial lines, to pro CHARLES R. -WITTEMANN- Witnesses: y

F. W. BARKER, p PRosrER ,BRUANDH 

